Bomb-Making Materials Found in Dorm: GMU Student Charged

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA -- A George Mason University student has been charged with possession of bomb-making materials, according to a campus spokesman.

On Wednesday, March 16, George Mason University Police received a report of flames being shot out of a window in Jefferson Hall, which is located in the university's Presidents Park, where many freshmen students live on campus.

When police arrived, they found sufficient cause to request a search warrant for possible drug paraphernalia, according to a statement from Thomas Longo, interim chief of police, Department of Police & Public Safety at the university.

On Thursday, March 17, police obtained a search warrant and found drug paraphernalia as well as items "consistent with the production of a dangerous device," Longo said in the statement.

Three individuals were arrested: Two on drug and alcohol-related charges and one was charged with possession of "bomb-making materials," according to Longo.

News4’s Northern Virginia bureau reporter David Culver reported on the bomb-making materials found: according to a search warrant affidavit filed in Fairfax County court by university police, investigators found a toolbox filled with multiple matchbooks, lighter fluid, hand sanitizer, and candles. He said they also found a PVC pipe in the room.

There is no threat to the campus community, and the investigation is ongoing, Longo said.